Al-Qadir Trust case: Lawyers move FCC seeking early fixation of Bushra’s plea

Islamabad: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has received a request from PTI lawyers seeking an expedited hearing for Bushra Bibi's appeal in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case. The lawyers, led by Salman Akram Raja and Salman Safdar, are pushing for an early resolution of the appeal filed by Imran Khan's wife. According to sources, the FCC Registrar Office has confirmed that the appeal could be heard next week.

Bushra, alongside her husband Imran, had previously sought a stay of her sentence at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in July of the previous year. However, their plea was rejected in May 2026, as the IHC stated that their appeals against their convictions were fixed for a later hearing date. Barrister Salman Safdar submitted the application to the FCC on September 17th, citing Bushra's deteriorating eye health, which posed a risk to her remaining vision.

The application noted that Bushra's involvement in the alleged wrongdoing was limited to aiding and abetting, and did not include any primary or substantive actions. The 54-year-old former first lady argued that she should be given priority status due to her gender and the irreversible harm caused by the lengthy proceedings at the IHC.

During her stay of sentence application, Bushra underwent surgery for a serious eye condition on April 16, 2026, and continues to face a risk to her remaining eye. She was convicted under Section 9(a)(xii) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, for aiding and abetting, and sentenced to seven years in prison. Bushra is currently held at Adiala Jail, while Imran received a seven-year sentence for the same case.

The court determined that both of them had provided excessive benefits to property magnate Malik Riaz in exchange for returning his laundered money from the United Kingdom.